Noisy neighbours

That is us, as we have learned after a visit of a neighbour from downstairs.

I have never been so nastily surprised in my life - how come? Us, hardworking folks, not listening to music loudly (and if so, it is Radio Classic so no bass and drums unless Beethoven is considered as heavy), not having any parties (at home), walking only in soft slippers and we are still noisy by some people standards?

I was standing in the dorway, trying to be as polite as possible even if the guy had the same kind of painful facial expression and type of glasses that one of assistants at the Fine Art Academy had - ones that make ones eyes huge like eyes of a fly - I dread of any people who wear these kind of glasses, it is a feeling stronger than me. Maybe because this guy's teaching methods were sucking out life of any creative student - I have met him once, many years later in a street in Krakow and a vague of something awful, sickening and tiring came through me like a flash, but I could not put it why I have reacted this way to seeing this particular person (I could not quite put him in my memory, who he was - not a Dementor from a Harry Potter's adventures, I just knew that the face was familiar somehow). Until Agata mentioned the guy in a conversation and it all became clear all of a sudden.

So here we were, him painfully saing that our floor is squeaking and he cannot put up with that anymore (so we should tiptoe for the rest of our stay or learn how to fly I presume, I thought but decided to shut up) and that the flat was empty for such a long (and presumably blissfull for him but not to the landlord) time and that he is so sensitive to noise (what noise?!) and what he is supposed to do (him? put some cotton buds in his ears, that's what) . Oh dear, I said, it must be that particular board in the floor which keeps squeaking, I will mark it so we will not step on it anymore (aha, this idea must work especially well in the darkness or when one tries very hard not to step on it), I apologised once more and closed the door, devastated.

We are bad, noisy neighbours. An we will have to live with the whole of our wooden floor marked like this: